Mary Hattersley Faces Cancer Again

At Enoteca Vespaio on South Congress earlier this week, it’s almost too warm for lattes with Cleve and Mary Hattersley, yet the company’s compelling. As figureheads of local Americana stalwarts Greezy Wheels, life’s been hair-raising, and no more so than recently when Mary, as she puts it, “got cancer a third time.”

That may come as news to those who remember the beloved fiddler’s bout with breast cancer early in this millennium. She considers her daughter’s round with leukemia at age 17 as her first battle against cancer. This recent diagnosis will be another obstacle to overcome.

Serious as it is – Mary undergoes surgery for vulvar cancer July 9 – Cleve’s quick to point out that, “This may be closer to Stage II than Stage III.” Nevertheless, at age 70, Mary will have to summon her inner strength.

“The mental attitude and eating right is so important,” she stresses. “And I went right back to my old hippie diet – we were right! My main thing now is supporting organic farmers and farming. The doctors’ eyes used to glaze over when I talked about what I was eating.

“It’s not just about cancer, it’s about all our lives.”

That’s not keeping Greezy Wheels from rolling along these days. There’s hardly a band name more associated with the glory daze of Austin’s Seventies. They played to a full Evangeline’s last weekend and step into KUTX’s Studio 1A Friday morning at 11am for their last show before Mary’s surgery.

Mary Hattersley’s Give Forward fund reached its goal of $20,000 the day we met. It’s an overwhelming feeling to be on the receiving end of public generosity, but Cleve sees a humorous side too.

“Kinky Friedman joked that if it were for him or me, there wouldn’t be a penny in the fund.”